Cultural values and digital gap: Overview of behavioral patterns.

The study uses different statistical techniques to understand the relationship between variables explaining the digital divide and classification based on The Inglehart-Welzel Cultural Map for 2023. To achieve this purpose variables focusing on Digital Penetration (the percentage of internet and social media users and mobile cellular connections), Operating Systems share (iOS and Android), Device Traffic (laptop/mobile phone-based web traffic) as well as Mobile Commerce variables (bills and payments using mobile internet) were included in the analysis. To minimize any effects arithmetic means of data was calculated.: The results from one-way ANOVA tests indicate significant differences among groups classified by cultural values for almost all measured variables of digitalization. The mean squares and F-values across variables like cellular mobile connections, internet users, and active social media users are significant indicating a shift towards more secular and self-expressive cultural values. The results of the GLM procedure show that significant portions of the total variance in digitalization variables are associated with membership in groups based on the cultural map. This suggests that cultural classifications can explain substantial differences in digital behavior and preferences across populations. Spearman's correlation coefficients showed strong positive correlations between Traditional/Secular values and several digitalization metrics, such as the use of mobile phones or the internet for payments, and negative correlations with others like share of web traffic by device type (mobile vs. laptop/computer). These correlations suggest that cultural values play a substantial role in influencing digital habits and accessibility.

Effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves of mobile phone stations on male fertility.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of electromagnetic waves of mobile phone stations on several sperm parameters and the male reproductive system. METHODS: This observational study was performed on 216 subjects, aged 18-60 years. Two equal groups of subjects were assigned to group A (study group) if they were living close to cell phone tower stations for at least 6 months and group B (control group) formed from individuals living 100 meters away from cell phone tower stations. Every subject underwent a comprehensive history taking, a clinical assessment, and laboratory testing. RESULTS: Regarding morphology index in the studied groups, the exposed group exhibited a trend of reduced percentage of normal morphology compared to the non-exposed group, with no statistical difference between the two groups. Regarding the total sperm motility (A+B+C) and progressive sperm motility (A+B) in the studied groups, the exposed group showed a trend of decreased total sperm motility and of progressive sperm motility in contrast to the non-exposed group, with no statistical difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Personal wrong lifestyles with exposure to electromagnetic waves have shown a trend towards a reduced percentage of normal morphology and reduced motility although nonstatistically significant compared with non-exposed populations.

Mobile phone call reminders to improve oral rehydration salt and zinc adherence for acute diarrhea in children: a single-center, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Low-osmolarity oral rehydration salt (ORS) and zinc therapy effectively manage diarrhea in children under five years of age, offering both short- and long-term benefits. Despite this, caregivers' adherence to ORS and zinc is often unsatisfactory due to factors such as forgetfulness, resolution of symptoms, and underestimation of the disease's severity. This study assessed the effect of mobile call reminders on ORS and zinc tablet adherence among children with acute diarrhea in a secondary-level health facility in Kwara State, Nigeria. METHODS: Using an open-label, randomized controlled trial design, this study compared caregiver-child pairs with acute diarrhea aged 6-59 months who received standard instructions (SI) alone (control group) and an intervention group (IG) who received SI plus phone call reminders on days three and seven of zinc sulfate therapy. All participants used a pictorial diary to track loose/watery stools and ORS and zinc tablet treatments for ten days. The primary outcome measures were independent and combined adherence to ORS and zinc therapy. The secondary outcomes were independent and combined adherence scores, defined as the percentage of times the ORS was given post-diarrhea and the percentage of prescribed zinc tablets administered out of ten. RESULTS: A total of 364/400 mother-child pairs completed the study. The percentage of mothers with full adherence in the intervention group was 82.5% for ORS, 72.1% for zinc, and 58.5% for combined use, compared to 78.8%, 60.8%, and 43.6%, respectively, in the control group. The odds of full adherence to ORS and zinc were 1.6 and 1.7 times higher among intervention mothers [ORS: OR = 1.561, 95% CI = 0.939-2.598, P = 0.085; zinc: OR = 1.671, 95% CI = 1.076-2.593, P = 0.022], and 1.8 times higher for combined use according to WHO guidelines [OR = 1.818, 95% CI = 1.200-2.754, P = 0.005]. The mean adherence scores for the intervention group were higher than those for the control group by 4.1% (95% CI = 0.60-7.60) for ORS, 7.3% (95% CI = 3.74-10.86) for zinc, and 5.7% (95% CI = 3.23-8.17) for the combined treatment. CONCLUSION: Phone reminders can effectively improve consistency of home treatment administered by caregivers for children under five years old. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered retrospectively (17/3/2023) with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR202301560735856).

Physical activity moderated the mediating effect of self-control between bullying victimization and mobile phone addiction among college students.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between bullying victimization and mobile phone addiction (MPA) among college students, taking into consideration the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of physical activity. A self-report survey was administered to college students from 4 universities in Guangxi, Liaoning, and Hunan provinces in China. Participants were asked to report their experiences of bullying victimization, level of MPA, self-control, and physical activity. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were conducted to analyze the data. Mediation and moderation models were subsequently established to examine the relationships between variables. The results indicated a positive correlation between bullying victimization and MPA among college students. Additionally, bullying victimization was negatively correlated with self-control. Bullying victimization significantly predicted MPA, and self-control partially mediated this relationship. Furthermore, physical activity moderated the association between bullying victimization and self-control among college students. The findings suggest that self-control plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between bullying victimization and MPA among college students. Moreover, physical activity weakens the association between bullying victimization and self-control. Therefore, promoting physical activity to reduce MPA among college students who have experienced bullying victimization is highly recommended.

A portable hydrogel kit based on Au@GM88A/I combined with mobile phone for polychromatic semi-quantitative and quantitative sensing analysis.

The development of an affordable, portable, and instrument-free colorimetric biosensor holds significant importance for routine monitoring and clinical diagnosis. To overcome the limitations that traditional monochromatic colorimetric kits struggle to distinguish subtle color changes with the naked eye, we designed and constructed a portable hydrogel kit for polychromatic semi-quantitative and quantitative sensing analysis. When the actual samples and I- were introduced into a gelatin hydrogel encapsulated with MIL-88A(Fe), Au NRs and oxidase (Au@GM88A/I), a noticeable color change occurred. Additionally, a mathematic model between Hue and multicolor signal was set up for the first time by mobile phone photo technology, successfully applied to the glucose detection in serum. The visual detection had a wide concentration range of 0.02-0.80 mM with a limit of detection down to 0.02 mM. Above all, hydrogel kit prepared with gelatin as a carrier addressed the issues of uneven color and slow response rate commonly seen in gels like sodium alginate and agarose. This improvement would be beneficial for enhancing the accuracy of color captured by mobile phone assisted hydrogel kits, making it a valuable tool for biomarker analysis.

Factors Associated With the Use of Digital Technology Among Youth in Zimbabwe: Findings From a Cross-Sectional Population-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: Globally, the increasing use of digital technologies such as mobile phones and the internet has allowed for the development of innovative mobile health interventions, particularly for reaching and engaging with youth. However, there is a risk that using such technologies may exclude those who lack access to them. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the sociodemographic factors associated with mobile phone ownership, internet use, and social media use among youth in Zimbabwe. METHODS: A population-based prevalence survey was conducted in 24 urban and periurban communities across 3 provinces of Zimbabwe (Harare, Mashonaland East, and Bulawayo). Youths aged 18 to 24 years resident in randomly selected households in the study communities completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The primary outcomes were mobile phone ownership and current internet and social media use. A household wealth indicator was developed using principal components analysis, based on household asset ownership. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the factors associated with each primary outcome. Age, sex, and province were considered a priori confounders. Household wealth, marital status, education level, employment status, time lived at current address, and HIV status were included in the final multivariable model if there was an age-, sex-, and province-adjusted association with a primary outcome on univariable analysis at a significance level of P<.10. RESULTS: Of the 17,636 participants assessed for the primary outcome, 16,370 (92.82%) had access to a mobile phone, and 15,454 (87.63%) owned a mobile phone. Among participants with access to a mobile phone, 58.61% (9594/16,370) and 57.79% (9460/16,370), respectively, used internet and social media at least weekly. Older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.76, 95% CI 1.55-2.00), increasing wealth (ranging from aOR 1.85, 95% CI 1.58-2.16, for wealth quintile 2 to aOR 3.80, 95% CI 3.00-4.80, for wealth quintile 5, with quintile 1 as reference), and higher education level (secondary: aOR 1.96, 95% CI 1.60-2.39; tertiary: aOR 8.36, 95% CI 5.29-13.20) were associated with mobile phone ownership. Older age, male sex, increasing wealth, having never been married, higher education level, being in education or formal employment, and having lived at the same address for ≥2 years were associated with higher levels of internet and social media use. CONCLUSIONS: While mobile phone ownership was near-universal, over one-third of youths in urban and periurban settings did not have access to the internet and social media. Access to the internet and social media use were strongly associated with household wealth and education level. Mobile health interventions must ensure that they do not amplify existing inequalities in access to health care. Such interventions must be accompanied by alternative strategies to engage and enroll individuals without internet or social media access to prevent the exclusion of young people by sex and socioeconomic status.

Implementing and Evaluating a Mobile Phone-Supported and Family-Centered Rehabilitation Program for People With Stroke in Uganda (F@ce 2.0): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a global societal challenge. Annually, 13 million people experience stroke, and the prevalence of stroke is increasing in low-income countries; hence, accessible rehabilitation needs to be developed. Information and communication technology can help by providing access to rehabilitation support through information, self-evaluation, and self-management of rehabilitation. The F@ce 2.0 rehabilitation program provides support in goal-setting and problem-solving strategies through phone calls from the interventionist twice a week and daily SMS text message reminders over 8 weeks to improve performance in valued activities in everyday life. Our hypothesis is that F@ce 2.0 will increase functioning in daily activities and participation in everyday life as well as improve performance and satisfaction in valued daily activities and self-efficacy (ie, confidence in own ability to perform activities) among people living with the consequences of stroke. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to implement F@ce 2.0, a mobile phone-supported and family-centered rehabilitation program, and evaluate its effects on performance in daily activities and participation in everyday life in comparison to ordinary rehabilitation among persons with stroke and their family members in Uganda. An additional aim is to explore experiences of participating in F@ce 2.0 and plausible mechanisms of impact that might explain the potential effects of F@ce 2.0. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to compare the outcomes of the F@ce 2.0 group and a control group receiving ordinary rehabilitation. Health care professionals will recruit 90 clients from both urban and rural areas. The primary outcomes for persons with stroke are perceived performance in daily activities assessed using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and self-efficacy assessed using the Self-Efficacy Scale; for family members, the primary outcome is caregiver burden evaluated using the Caregiver Burden Scale. Descriptive statistics will be used to present characteristics and outcomes at 3 and 6 months. All statistical analyses comparing the outcomes at the different time points between the F@ce 2.0 and control groups will be performed using intention-to-treat analysis. Qualitative interviews will be used to explore the experiences of persons with stroke and their family members participating in F@ce 2.0, using a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis. A process evaluation will be conducted using a single-case study design with mixed methods to explore the implementation process. RESULTS: Recruitment and data collection in the randomized controlled trial were initiated in January 2022 and have been completed. The intervention has been provided to 51 participants in the intervention group. Interviews of persons with stroke, family members, and health care professionals have been conducted. Data analysis will be performed during autumn 2024 and spring 2025. CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide evidence of the plausible effects of F@ce 2.0 and the process of implementing the program in low-income countries. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/60955.

Mobile Phones and HIV Testing: Multicountry Instrumental Variable Analysis From Sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: Sub-Saharan Africa has been a technological hothouse when it comes to mobile phone technology adoption. However, evidence on the role played by mobile technology on infectious disease prevention has been mostly limited to experimental studies. OBJECTIVE: This observational study investigates the role of mobile phone connectivity on HIV testing in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: We make use of the novel and comprehensive OpenCelliD cell tower database and Demographic and Health Survey geocoded information for over 400,000 women in 29 sub-Saharan African countries. We examine, through ordinary least square and instrumental variable regressions, whether women's community distance from the closest cell tower influences knowledge about HIV testing facilities and the likelihood of ever being tested for HIV. RESULTS: After finding a negative and significant impact of distance to the nearest cell tower on knowledge of HIV testing facility (-0.7 percentage points per unit increase in distance) and HIV testing (-0.5 percentage points per unit increase), we investigate the mechanisms through which such effects might occur. Our analysis shows that distance to a cell tower reduces HIV-related knowledge (-0.4 percentage points per unit increase) as well as reproductive health knowledge (-0.4 percentage points per unit increase). Similar results are observed when the analysis is performed at community level. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the effect of mobile phone connectivity is channeled through increased knowledge of HIV, sexually transmittable infections, and modern contraceptive methods. Further analysis shows that cell phone ownership has an even larger impact on HIV testing and knowledge. This paper adds to the recent literature on the impact of mobile-based HIV prevention schemes by showing through large-scale analysis that better mobile network access is a powerful tool to spread reproductive health knowledge and increase HIV awareness.

Phubbing in Adolescents: Spanish Validation of the Phubbing Scale (PS).

The Phubbing Scale (PS) is an instrument used to measure the frequency and extent of the behavior of ignoring someone you are with and giving attention to your mobile phone instead. However, there is insufficient evidence about the psychometric adequacy of the Spanish version of the instrument. The main goal of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of PS in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents and young adults. A total of 1351 participants comprised the sample (42.78% females, age range = 12-21). Students were selected from different levels of education such as secondary school, high school, vocational training, or university. A convenient sample was used. The reliability of the scores was calculated by means of McDonald's Omega. The evidence of the internal structure of the questionnaire was analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The measurement invariance of the instrument by gender and educational level was also calculated. In addition, Pearson's correlations between phubbing and other indicators of mental health were also calculated. The goodness-of-fit indices for the two-factor model were good. The McDonald's Omega coefficient for the total score was 0.787. Measurement invariance both by gender and educational level was found. The phenomenon of phubbing was found to have statistically significant correlations with emotional well-being, other mental health indicators, and with Problematic Internet Use (PIU), with the sole exception of the hyperactivity subscale of the SDQ. This study provided validity evidence for the Spanish version of the Phubbing Scale (PS), suggesting that PS is a reliable tool for quantifying phubbing in Spanish adolescents.

A Lightweight Pathological Gait Recognition Approach Based on a New Gait Template in Side-View and Improved Attention Mechanism.

As people age, abnormal gait recognition becomes a critical problem in the field of healthcare. Currently, some algorithms can classify gaits with different pathologies, but they cannot guarantee high accuracy while keeping the model lightweight. To address these issues, this paper proposes a lightweight network (NSVGT-ICBAM-FACN) based on the new side-view gait template (NSVGT), improved convolutional block attention module (ICBAM), and transfer learning that fuses convolutional features containing high-level information and attention features containing semantic information of interest to achieve robust pathological gait recognition. The NSVGT contains different levels of information such as gait shape, gait dynamics, and energy distribution at different parts of the body, which integrates and compensates for the strengths and limitations of each feature, making gait characterization more robust. The ICBAM employs parallel concatenation and depthwise separable convolution (DSC). The former strengthens the interaction between features. The latter improves the efficiency of processing gait information. In the classification head, we choose to employ DSC instead of global average pooling. This method preserves the spatial information and learns the weights of different locations, which solves the problem that the corner points and center points in the feature map have the same weight. The classification accuracies for this paper's model on the self-constructed dataset and GAIT-IST dataset are 98.43% and 98.69%, which are 0.77% and 0.59% higher than that of the SOTA model, respectively. The experiments demonstrate that the method achieves good balance between lightweightness and performance.

Exploring the utility of a social norm approach in reducing younger drivers' engagement in hand-held phone use while driving: A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Engagement in hand-held phone use while driving among young drivers is a prevalent concern in society, despite countermeasures to deter the behavior. The social norm approach has been effective in reducing negative behaviors in young adults (e.g., binge drinking, drink driving). However, whether this approach can reduce hand-held phone use while driving in this population has not been thoroughly investigated. METHOD: The qualitative study explored young drivers' attitudes and opinions on social norm messages designed to reduce hand-held phone use while driving. In addition, young drivers' opinions on current campaigns were explored to provide further insight into the effectiveness of these messages. Thirty young drivers were interviewed and shown six social norm messages. RESULTS: The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, resulting in five themes and one sub-theme: (1) Road safety messages with minimal impact on hand-held phone use while driving; (2) What constitutes an effective road safety message for hand-held phone use while driving; (3) Comparisons between social norm messages and road safety messages; (4) The potential benefits of combined social norms, (4a) Improving and optimizing the message; and (5) "It's kinda just numbers on a screen": Negative views on social norm messages. Results highlight the diverse opinions towards road safety campaigns and the need to increase exposure to these messages. Further, a combined social norm message was perceived as most effective in reducing engagement in hand-held phone use while driving. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides preliminary evidence that the social norm approach may be effective in reducing hand-held phone use among young drivers. Further, this study highlights the need to maximize exposure to phone use while driving campaigns in this high-risk cohort. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Results support the development of a social norm messaging intervention to reduce young drivers hand-held phone use while driving.

How state mindfulness affects mobile phones usage while walking: A daily diary study in China.

INTRODUCTION: Pedestrians are a particularly vulnerable group of road users. Mobile phone usage while walking (MPUWW) is a significant contributor to pedestrians' involvement in road crashes and associated injuries. The current study aims to explore the effect of state mindfulness on daily MPUWW via phone dependence (at the within-person level), and the moderating role of risk perception (at the between-person level) in the phone dependence-MPUWW relationship. METHOD: We utilized a fine-grained method, the daily diary methodology (DDM) to explore the aforementioned model. A total of 88 Chinese college students participated in a consecutive 12-day study, yielding 632 daily data. Unconflated multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: After trait mindfulness being controlled, state mindfulness has a negative impact on MPUWW via phone dependence at the daily level. Furthermore, risk perception as an individual difference variable moderates the relationship between phone dependence and MPUWW, in which a weaker effect observed in individuals with higher levels of risk perception. CONCLUSIONS: State mindfulness can decrease the frequency of daily MPUWW by reducing phone dependence, and risk perception is a crucial factor in mitigating the negative effects of phone dependence on MPUWW. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: To lower MPUWW and thereby minimize the risk of road crashes and associated injuries, it is beneficial to foster present-moment awareness of individuals, encourage individuals to use mobile phones in a balanced and sensible manner, and integrate the enhancement of risk perception into road safety education.

High-Frequency Hearing Loss Amongst Smart Mobile Phone Users: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: In past 20 years, there is increase in mobile phone users from 12.4 million to about 5.6 billion i.e 70 % of the world's population.[1] Electromagnetic radiations emitted from mobile phone damages inner ear, cochlea and outer hair cells of inner ear and auditory pathway (AP).[2]. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Case control study. Group 1, N=30 subjects, using mobile smart phones since past 1-5 years and exposure time more than 2 hours per day. Group II included 30 subjects, using mobile smart phones for more than 5 years and exposure time more than 2 hours per day. Headache, tinnitus, or sensations of burning around phone-using were excluded. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) done. Student Unpaired t test was used for analysis and chisquare test. RESULTS: Mean ± SD of absolute latencies (AL) of Brainstem evoked response auditory. (BERA) waves III, V and all interpeak latencies at 80 dB and 4,6,8 KHz in group 2 were delayed and significant as compared to group 1. All parameters were highly significant at 8KHz as compared to 4KHz in group 2. CONCLUSION: Brain stem evoked response audiometry (BERA) detects hearing loss in smart mobile phone using subjects at higher frequencies i.e at 8 KHz early. Hence central neural axis involvement can be detected early by BERA.

Résumé Contexte:Au cours des 20 dernières années, le nombre d'utilisateurs de téléphones mobiles est passé de 12,4 millions à environ 5,6 milliards, soit 70 % de la population mondiale. [1] Les rayonnements électromagnétiques émis par les téléphones portables endommagent l'oreille interne, la cochlée et les cellules ciliées externes de l'oreille interne et des voies auditives (PA). [2]Matériels et méthodes:étude cas-témoins. Groupe 1, N = 30 sujets, utilisant des téléphones intelligents mobiles depuis 1 à 5 ans et temps d'exposition supérieur à 2 heures par jour. Le groupe II comprenait 30 sujets, utilisant des téléphones portables intelligents depuis plus de 5 ans et ayant une durée d'exposition supérieure à 2 heures par jour. Les maux de tête, les acouphènes ou les sensations de brûlure lors de l'utilisation du téléphone ont été exclus. Potentiel évoqué auditif du tronc cérébral (BAEP) réalisé. Le test t non apparié de Student a été utilisé pour l'analyse et le test du chi carré.Résultats:Moyenne ± écart-type des latences absolues (AL) de la réponse auditive évoquée du tronc cérébral. (BERA) les ondes III, V et toutes les latences inter-pics à 80 dB et 4,6,8 KHz dans le groupe 2 étaient retardées et significatives par rapport au groupe 1. Tous les paramètres étaient hautement significatifs à 8 KHz par rapport à 4 KHz dans le groupe 2.Conclusion:L'audiométrie à réponse évoquée du tronc cérébral (BERA) détecte la perte auditive dans un téléphone mobile intelligent en utilisant des sujets à des fréquences plus élevées, c'est-à-dire à 8 KHz plus tôt. Par conséquent, l'implication de l'axe neural central peut être détectée précocement par BERA.

The effect of exposure to radiofrequency fields on cancer risk in the general and working population: A systematic review of human observational studies - Part I: Most researched outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this review was to assess the quality and strength of the evidence provided by human observational studies for a causal association between exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) and risk of the most investigated neoplastic diseases. METHODS: Eligibility criteria: We included cohort and case-control studies of neoplasia risks in relation to three types of exposure to RF-EMF: near-field, head-localized, exposure from wireless phone use (SR-A); far-field, whole body, environmental exposure from fixed-site transmitters (SR-B); near/far-field occupational exposures from use of hand-held transceivers or RF-emitting equipment in the workplace (SR-C). While no restrictions on tumour type were applied, in the current paper we focus on incidence-based studies of selected "critical" neoplasms of the central nervous system (brain, meninges, pituitary gland, acoustic nerve) and salivary gland tumours (SR-A); brain tumours and leukaemias (SR-B, SR-C). We focussed on investigations of specific neoplasms in relation to specific exposure sources (i.e. E-O pairs), noting that a single article may address multiple E-O pairs. INFORMATION SOURCES: Eligible studies were identified by literature searches through Medline, Embase, and EMF-Portal. Risk-of-bias (RoB) assessment: We used a tailored version of the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) RoB tool to evaluate each study's internal validity. At the summary RoB step, studies were classified into three tiers according to their overall potential for bias (low, moderate and high). DATA SYNTHESIS: We synthesized the study results using random effects restricted maximum likelihood (REML) models (overall and subgroup meta-analyses of dichotomous and categorical exposure variables), and weighted mixed effects models (dose-response meta-analyses of lifetime exposure intensity). Evidence assessment: Confidence in evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. RESULTS: We included 63 aetiological articles, published between 1994 and 2022, with participants from 22 countries, reporting on 119 different E-O pairs. RF-EMF exposure from mobile phones (ever or regular use vs no or non-regular use) was not associated with an increased risk of glioma [meta-estimate of the relative risk (mRR) = 1.01, 95 % CI = 0.89-1.13), meningioma (mRR = 0.92, 95 % CI = 0.82-1.02), acoustic neuroma (mRR = 1.03, 95 % CI = 0.85-1.24), pituitary tumours (mRR = 0.81, 95 % CI = 0.61-1.06), salivary gland tumours (mRR = 0.91, 95 % CI = 0.78-1.06), or paediatric (children, adolescents and young adults) brain tumours (mRR = 1.06, 95 % CI = 0.74-1.51), with variable degree of across-study heterogeneity (I2 = 0 %-62 %). There was no observable increase in mRRs for the most investigated neoplasms (glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma) with increasing time since start (TSS) use of mobile phones, cumulative call time (CCT), or cumulative number of calls (CNC). Cordless phone use was not significantly associated with risks of glioma [mRR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 0.74-1.46; I2 = 74 %) meningioma, (mRR = 0.91, 95 % CI = 0.70-1.18; I2 = 59 %), or acoustic neuroma (mRR = 1.16; 95 % CI = 0.83-1.61; I2 = 63 %). Exposure from fixed-site transmitters (broadcasting antennas or base stations) was not associated with childhood leukaemia or paediatric brain tumour risks, independently of the level of the modelled RF exposure. Glioma risk was not significantly increased following occupational RF exposure (ever vs never), and no differences were detected between increasing categories of modelled cumulative exposure levels. DISCUSSION: In the sensitivity analyses of glioma, meningioma, and acoustic neuroma risks in relation to mobile phone use (ever use, TSS, CCT, and CNC) the presented results were robust and not affected by changes in study aggregation. In a leave-one-out meta-analyses of glioma risk in relation to mobile phone use we identified one influential study. In subsequent meta-analyses performed after excluding this study, we observed a substantial reduction in the mRR and the heterogeneity between studies, for both the contrast Ever vs Never (regular) use (mRR = 0.96, 95 % CI = 0.87-1.07, I2 = 47 %), and in the analysis by increasing categories of TSS ("<5 years": mRR = 0.97, 95 % CI = 0.83-1.14, I2 = 41 %; "5-9 years ": mRR = 0.96, 95 % CI = 0.83-1.11, I2 = 34 %; "10+ years": mRR = 0.97, 95 % CI = 0.87-1.08, I2 = 10 %). There was limited variation across studies in RoB for the priority domains (selection/attrition, exposure and outcome information), with the number of studies evenly classified as at low and moderate risk of bias (49 % tier-1 and 51 % tier-2), and no studies classified as at high risk of bias (tier-3). The impact of the biases on the study results (amount and direction) proved difficult to predict, and the RoB tool was inherently unable to account for the effect of competing biases. However, the sensitivity meta-analyses stratified on bias-tier, showed that the heterogeneity observed in our main meta-analyses across studies of glioma and acoustic neuroma in the upper TSS stratum (I2 = 77 % and 76 %), was explained by the summary RoB-tier. In the tier-1 study subgroup, the mRRs (95 % CI; I2) in long-term (10+ years) users were 0.95 (0.85-1.05; 5.5 %) for glioma, and 1.00 (0.78-1.29; 35 %) for acoustic neuroma. The time-trend simulation studies, evaluated as complementary evidence in line with a triangulation approach for external validity, were consistent in showing that the increased risks observed in some case-control studies were incompatible with the actual incidence rates of glioma/brain cancer observed in several countries and over long periods. Three of these simulation studies consistently reported that RR estimates > 1.5 with a 10+ years induction period were definitely implausible, and could be used to set a "credibility benchmark". In the sensitivity meta-analyses of glioma risk in the upper category of TSS excluding five studies reporting implausible effect sizes, we observed strong reductions in both the mRR [mRR of 0.95 (95 % CI = 0.86-1.05)], and the degree of heterogeneity across studies (I2 = 3.6 %). CONCLUSIONS: Consistently with the published protocol, our final conclusions were formulated separately for each exposure-outcome combination, and primarily based on the line of evidence with the highest confidence, taking into account the ranking of RF sources by exposure level as inferred from dosimetric studies, and the external coherence with findings from time-trend simulation studies (limited to glioma in relation to mobile phone use). For near field RF-EMF exposure to the head from mobile phone use, there was moderate certainty evidence that it likely does not increase the risk of glioma, meningioma, acoustic neuroma, pituitary tumours, and salivary gland tumours in adults, or of paediatric brain tumours. For near field RF-EMF exposure to the head from cordless phone use, there was low certainty evidence that it may not increase the risk of glioma, meningioma or acoustic neuroma. For whole-body far-field RF-EMF exposure from fixed-site transmitters (broadcasting antennas or base stations), there was moderate certainty evidence that it likely does not increase childhood leukaemia risk and low certainty evidence that it may not increase the risk of paediatric brain tumours. There were no studies eligible for inclusion investigating RF-EMF exposure from fixed-site transmitters and critical tumours in adults. For occupational RF-EMF exposure, there was low certainty evidence that it may not increase the risk of brain cancer/glioma, but there were no included studies of leukemias (the second critical outcome in SR-C). The evidence rating regarding paediatric brain tumours in relation to environmental RF exposure from fixed-site transmitters should be interpreted with caution, due to the small number of studies. Similar interpretative cautions apply to the evidence rating of the relation between glioma/brain cancer and occupational RF exposure, due to differences in exposure sources and metrics across the few included studies. OTHER: This project was commissioned and partially funded by the World Health Organization (WHO). Co-financing was provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Health; the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in its capacity as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Radiation and Health; and ARPANSA as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Radiation Protection. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021236798. Published protocol: [(Lagorio et al., 2021) DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106828].

Effectiveness of mobile phone applications for tobacco cessation: An umbrella review.

BACKGROUND: Mobile Health (mHealth), leveraging nearly 4.5 billion people actively use mobile phone and internet, can be crucial in promoting tobacco cessation. This umbrella review aimed to assess the effectiveness of mobile phone applications in achieving this outcome. METHODS: Searches were conducted in databases like Medline, EMBASE, PubMed Central, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library from their inception till June 2022, without language restriction. Quality assessment was carried out using the AMSTAR-2 tool. The narrative synthesis findings were presented in terms of the overall effect size reported by the individual systematic review along with the heterogeneity measures and risk of bias assessment findings. RESULTS: We included 11 reviews, most of which had critical weaknesses in certain domains. Among these, three reviews conducted meta-analyses providing pooled estimates, but the effect sizes were non-significant and imprecise, indicating that mobile phone applications did not have a significant effect on tobacco cessation. Only three reviews concluded a promising role for mobile phone applications in tobacco cessation, particularly when these applications were based on theoretical constructs or combined with face-to-face interventions. CONCLUSION: Our review indicates that mobile phone applications could play a promising role in tobacco cessation. However, using a single mobile phone application without any theoretical construct may not sufficiently drive behavioural change to reduce tobacco usage.

Implementation of Maternal and Newborn Health Mobile Phone E-Cohorts to Track Longitudinal Care Quality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

BACKGROUND: The maternal and newborn health (MNH) eCohort is a new mixed-mode (in-person and phone) longitudinal survey aiming to provide data on novel and undermeasured dimensions of quality along the MNH continuum of care. We describe implementation experiences and lessons learned in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and South Africa to inform future longitudinal mobile phone-based studies on health system quality. METHODS: To document the implementation approach and lesson learned, we engaged numerous stakeholders and conducted data reviews, debriefs, and a workshop with participants from all collaborative research organizations. RESULTS: The MNH eCohorts enrolled women during their first antenatal care visit in 2 sentinel sites in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and South Africa. In India, a site with better health outcomes and a site with poorer outcomes were chosen. In the remaining countries, an urban site and a rural site were chosen. Enrollment facilities reflect care-seeking patterns according to local health information data across public and private facilities and primary and secondary levels. Data collectors had a range of educational and experience profiles, and phone data collection was completed by the same enumerators in some countries and outsourced to data collection firms in others. Adequate infrastructure (including Internet and mobile phone coverage) was essential to implementation. Although follow-up is ongoing in India and South Africa, the eCohort retained 89%-90% of participants throughout the entire pregnancy and 78%-81% until 3 months postpartum in Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The MNH eCohort is a complex and long survey. Careful and thoughtful implementation demonstrates that it is a useful tool to gather data on health system quality and continuity and on changes in user experience over the continuum of care. Findings from the eCohort related to care and system competence and user experience will be valuable to program managers and policymakers alike.

Dual-mode electrochemiluminescence sensing and phone imaging assays based on bipolar electrode for kanamycin detection.

Excessive use of antibiotics will enter the water environment and soil through the biological chain, and then transfer to the human body through food, resulting in drug resistance, kidney toxicity and other health problems, so it is urgent to develop highly sensitive detection methods of antibiotics. Here, we designed a dual-mode sensor platform based on closed bipolar electrode (cBPE) electroluminescence (ECL) and mobile phone imaging to detect kanamycin in seawater. The prepared CN-NV-550 displayed extremely intense ECL signal, allowing for convenient mobile phone imaging. The cBPE was combined with DNA cycle amplification technology to prevent the mutual interference between target and the luminescent material, and realized the amplification of signal. In the presence of target Kana, Co3O4 was introduced to the cBPE anode by DNA cycle amplification product, and accelerated the oxidation rate of uric acid (UA). Thus, the electroluminescence response of CN-NV-550 on cBPE cathode was much improved due to the charge balance of the cBPE, achieving both ECL detection and mobile phone imaging assay of Kana, which much improved the accuracy and efficiency of assay. The limit of detection (LOD) in this work is 0.23 pM, and LOD for mobile phone imaging is 0.39 pM. This study integrate ECL imaging visualization of CN-NV-550 and high electrocatalytic activity of Co3O4 into cBPE-ECL detection, providing a new perspective for antibiotic analysis, and has great potential for practical applications, especially in Marine environmental pollution monitoring.

Factors associated with willingness to use mHealth interventions for medication adherence among people living with HIV attending a tertiary hospital in sub-Saharan Africa.

INTRODUCTION: There is increasing evidence in favor of enhancing adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) through mobile health (mHealth) assessment and intervention. The study aims to establish the willingness to adopt mobile phone technology to enhance adherence to ART among PLHIV. METHODS: The Researchers adopted a cross-sectional survey. Systematic sampling was employed in selecting 237 PLHIV in the HIV clinic for adults at Ido-Ekiti's Federal Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Data collection was via a 33-item semi-structured questionnaire administered by the interviewer. Information collected via the questionnaire included details on ownership of mobile phone technology, its usage, and willingness to use it to improve adherence to HIV medication. Descriptive statistics coupled with multivariate regression was employed in analyzing data, with the level of significance at 5%. RESULTS: The respondent's had a mean ±SD age of 46.6 ±10 years. Most of the participants were female (77.6%), and have been on ART for over 2years (88.2%). The vast majority of study participants 233 (98.3%) owned a mobile phone. 168 (70.9%) of them were willing to embrace mHealth interventions on medication adherence. Some of the factors influencing the respondent's willingness to receive the intervention were older age (OR = 0.05, 95%Cl:[0.01-0.24]), having formal education (OR = 7.12, 95%Cl:[3.01-16.53]), being diagnosed over 10years ago (OR = 15.63, 95%Cl:[3.02-80.83]) and previous use of phone to send text messages, record video, access the internet, send email and search the internet for health-related information (OR = 2.2, 95%Cl:[1.2-3.9]; OR = 1.8, 95%Cl:[1.0-3.2]; OR = 2.5, 95%Cl:[1.4-4.7]; OR = 2.7, 95%Cl:[1.2-5.5] and OR = 2.0, 95%Cl:[1.0-3.8]) respectively. CONCLUSION: Many of the PLHIV had a cellphone and expressed willingness on their part to use it in receiving reminders to take their medication. Older age, formal education and internet users were significantly more willing to get reminders to take their medication.

Consumers Accessing Their Mobile Phone in an Acute Inpatient Mental Health Unit: Experiences of Consumers and Staff.

Mobile phones are an essential means for remaining connected, yet many acute inpatient mental health units restrict consumer access to their mobile phones due to safety concerns. The ubiquitous nature of mobile phones makes this approach seemingly incongruent with contemporary mental health practice. One Local Health District in Australia evaluated the implementation of a process that provided mental health consumers access to their mobile phones while in hospital. This study used a mixed methods design to explore the views of consumers and nurses, both before and after implementation. Participants were asked about their perceptions of the importance of mobile phone access to people in acute units, and their views about any perceived (pre) and actual (post) issues, challenges or benefits associated with the change in practice. Survey responses showed significant differences across group on all measures, with consumers more likely to rate the importance and frequency of mobile phone use higher, while also significantly more likely to rate potential issues lower. Issues associated with consumer phone access were rated lower in the post surveys. Descriptive content analysis of qualitative data identified differences in the level of concern between staff and consumers about consumers having access to their phone before implementation. Views about the therapeutic benefits and level of concern also changed post implementation. The need to have a clear process for implementation and governance was identified by both groups. The findings support consumers having access to their phone during admissions to acute mental health units.

Early detection of critical urban events using mobile phone network data.

Network Signalling Data (NSD) have the potential to provide continuous spatio-temporal information about the presence, mobility, and usage patterns of cell phone services by individuals. Such information is invaluable for monitoring large urban areas and supporting the implementation of decision-making services. When analyzed in real time, NSD can enable the early detection of critical urban events, including fires, large accidents, stampedes, terrorist attacks, and sports and leisure gatherings, especially if these events significantly impact mobile phone network activity in the affected areas. This paper presents empirical evidence that advanced NSD can detect anomalies in mobile traffic service consumption, attributable to critical urban events, with fine spatial (a spatial resolution of a few decameters) and temporal (minutes) resolutions. We introduce two methodologies for real-time anomaly detection from multivariate time series extracted from large-scale NSD, utilizing a range of algorithms adapted from the state-of-the-art in unsupervised machine learning techniques for anomaly detection. Our research includes a comprehensive quantitative evaluation of these algorithms on a large-scale dataset of NSD service consumption for the Paris region. The evaluation uses an original dataset of documented critical or unusual urban events. This dataset has been built as a ground truth basis for assessing the algorithms' performance. The obtained results demonstrate that our framework can detect unusual events almost instantaneously and locate the affected areas with high precision, largely outperforming random classifiers. This efficiency and effectiveness underline the potential of NSD-based anomaly detection in significantly enhancing emergency response strategies and urban planning. By offering a proactive approach to managing urban safety and resilience, our findings highlight the transformative potential of leveraging NSD for anomaly detection in urban environments.